Selected Works of Henry A. Wallace

Secretary of Agriculture from 1933 to 1940, during the difficult years of the Great Depression, and Vice President from 1941 to 1945, at the height of World War II, Henry Agard Wallace was one of FDR's most trusted lieutenants, a man whose faith in the New Deal and determination to fashion a better world out of the ashes of war made him, in the words of John Kenneth Galbraith, "second only to Roosevelt as the most important figure of the New Deal."

An original thinker and a prolific writer, Henry Wallace's speeches and articles have long been out of print and unavailable to the general public. This website is meant to address that situation. The Documents section contains 33 selected speeches and articles by Henry Wallace, from his first public radio address as FDR's new Secretary of Agriculture to his 1948 campaign as Progressive Party candidate for the Presidency. The speeches reflect Wallace's interests in agricultural policy, public planning, anti-fascism, internationalism, and civil rights, and include "The Price of Free World Victory," Wallace's famous "Century of the Common Man" speech, and "The Way To Peace," his anti-Cold War address that led to his dismissal as Secretary of Commerce by President Truman. The site also includes an Essay by Professor David Woolner and a Resources page.